Vote 2008

President-Elect Barack Obama spoke to a crowd of over 100,000 supporters in Chicago’s Grant Park after his election victory over Sen. John McCain. Watch his speech below:

11-3-08 Rally in Marconi Park.

Triangle Photos by Dave Hernandez

Sen. Barack Obama will be holding a two hour cocktail reception and fundraiser in Center City on Oct. 10 and Jon Bon Jovi will be performing live, according to my.barackobama.com.

The minimum contribution to attend the event for patrons is $1,000 and for sponsors $2,300, according to  my.barackobama.com.

On Saturday, Oct. 11 Obama will be making four appearances in Philadelphia for a neighborhood rally, according to a press release from the Obama campaign

The location of those events are:

Progress Plaza
1501 N. Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19122
Doors open: 6:15 a.m.
Program begins: 8:15 a.m.

Mayfair Diner
7373 Frankford Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19136
Doors open: 7:15 a.m.
Program begins: 9:30 a.m.

Vernon Park
5789 Germantown Ave between E. Chelton Ave and W. Rittenhouse St.
Philadelphia, PA 19144
Doors open: 9:00 a.m.
Program begins: 11:15 a.m.

Intersection of South 52nd Street and Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA 19139
Public entrance: Spruce Street
Doors open: 11:00 a.m.
Program begins: 1:10 p.m.

Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain wave to the crowd at the start of the town hall-style debate Oct. 7

Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain met for their second debate Tuesday night in Nashville, Tenn. NBC journalist Tom Brokaw moderated, attempting to hold candidates to strict time limits as had been agreed to prior to the debate. Questions came from the audience in a town hall-like format, as well as from the Internet and Brokaw.

Questions focused on the economy, taxes, the future of entitlement programs, health care, energy and the U.S.’s role in foreign affairs.

One question from the Internet asked, “What don’t you know, and how will you learn it?” Sen. Obama responded, “One of the things about the presidency is, it’s never the challenges you expect, it’s the challenges that you don’t.”

If you missed the debate, watch it online! And once you’ve watched, check out the truth of the candidates’ statements at sites like factcheck.org and politifact.com, and on their campaign web sites (Obama, McCain).

Media Credit: Philly.com / Mark Humphrey, AP

50,000 people attended this free concert given by “The Boss” to promote the Obama Campaign.

Triangle Photos by Dave Hernandez

Josh Lucas and Al Shearer stormed Caneris North, Kelly Hall, Van Rensselaer and Myers Hall Sunday night, according to John Lloyd Chairman of the Drexel Democrats.

“Everybody is rockin’, rockin’ for Obama,” said Shearer.

“We have been going to colleges all over the Philly area and getting people to register to vote, hopefully registering to vote for Obama,” Lucas said.

They have gone to six schools and have three left, according to the Obama campaign.

“There is such a sense of excitement on campus,” Lucas said.  “Everyone here is registered to vote.”

Bruce Springsteen will take the stage around 5 p.m. today to play a free, open-ended acoustic concert on the Parkway, The Inquirer reported.

Springsteen has not committed to how many songs he will play or what time it will end, Zach Friend, spokesman for Obama, told The Inquirer.  “Its up to him,” Friend said.

Yesterday people who volunteered for the Obama campaign received premium tickets, according to The Inquirer.

Two other local musicians, Nora Whitaker and Amos Lee, will also be playing at the concert, The Inquirer reported.

On Friday, the center stretch of the Parkway was shut down so crews could put together the stage for the concert, according to The Inquirer.

Unlike most concerts, which the stage is set up with the Art Museum in the background, Springsteen will play with City Hall as the backdrop, The Inquirer reported.

The concert is expected to start at 3:30 p.m. and gates will open at 2 p.m., CBS 3 reported.

Media Credit: The Inquirer

From the Associated Press:

***Photo credit: thecollegevoter.com

Presidential candidates met for their first debate Sept. 26 in Oxford, Miss.

Senators John McCain and Barack Obama took a break Sept. 26 from Senate negotiations over the economic bailout plan to engage in the first presidential debate of 2008. McCain had originally called to have the debate postponed, but Obama declined the request, and the McCain campaign agreed early Friday to participate as scheduled.

Jim Lehrer of PBS moderated, doling out questions on the economic bailout, taxes, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia and other issues. The economy was a last-minute addition to the slate of questions, as the current crisis demanded the candidates address it in some fashion.

Lehrer encouraged the candidates to talk directly to each other, an activity that is generally not part of formal debate ettiquite. Obama seemed to take to the style change well, frequently addressing McCain by his first name and attempting to make eye contact. McCain seemed to be more comfortable in a traditional debate stance.

A new talking point emerged from McCain during the debate; on many occasions he stated that Obama “doesn’t get it” or “doesn’t understand” various issues — a new, direct approach to painting the young senator as inexperienced. Obama continued to tie McCain to the current administration, pointing out that the senator from Arizona has voted with Bush 95% of the time. McCain parried by calling Obama the “most liberal” senator, though this claim is difficult to measure.

Notable exchanges included discussion of earmark spending, nuclear energy and the arguable success of the Iraq war thus far. The candidates also engaged in a debate of diplomatic semantics when Lehrer asked about Obama’s July 2007 primary debate response that he would “be willing to meet separately, without precondition, during the first year of your administration, in Washington or anywhere else, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea.”

Both candidates performed strongly in the debate, and neither has been declared a definitive winner. What do you think? Voice your opinion in the comments!

Missed it? See NYT’s interactive video and transcript. See also their fact check of statements made throughout the debate.

Photo credit: CNN.com/AP

Drew Barrymore and Zach Braff are coming to Drexel Sept. 29 to help the Drexel Democrats register students to vote, according to drexeldems.org.

They will be on campus from 10:25 a.m. - 11:50 a.m. to raise awareness of the Oct. 6 deadline to register to vote, according to an email from the Obama campaign.

Media Credit: drexeldems.org